Early Walther LGV - how durable?

[Kragman1]

All - I'm looking at a roughly 1970 LGV Special, said to be in excellent condition but with a cocking arm issue.  Found out last night that the barrel bluing is worn from use, so what I thought was a "low mileage" rifle that needs repair is actually something else.

I'd love to own such a rifle and I'm juuust willing to take on the cocking arm fix, but I don't want to take on a full blown project and I'm concerned that this could be one.

So, if anyone can give me some insight - known issues, things to look for, etc it would be very appreciated.

[MDriskill]

Oldair is the resident Walther guru...but I did stumble through rebuilds of my late LGV and early "Spezial."

The rear of the cocking link is indexed into the piston slot by a spring, which is attached to the weight in the stock fore end (when you take the action out of the stock, the link just drops out of the piston). On the LG 55 this is a surprisingly dinky coil spring, on the LGV's a more substantial leaf spring. If something is a bit out of line the link may not engage correctly. This is usually an easy fix if you know what to look for.

A friend of mine had a very clapped out old LG 55. On this the link and piston slot were so worn that they just couldn't push the piston rod back far enough to engage the trigger. No choice there but to replace some parts.

These guns are very durable if well cared for, but three other tricky bits:
1) breech bolt whose end is flexed out to tighten, and can crack when fatigued
2) "devil bar" auto safety slider, which can easily be damaged if not installed correctly - and the trigger won't work at all if it's goofed up
3) piston seal, the original nylon ones will always powderize over time. The fix is a 25mm Weihrauch seal, which are sold attached to a metal base that easily slides into the ingenious "keyhole" piston end

[Kragman1]

Thank you Mike.  That is exactly the kind of info I needed.

In the end, I decided that it wasn't the rifle for me, and I passed.  It was a really close call though, and I think that someone here could be very happy with it.

It's listed on the Airguns of Arizona pre-owned page, stock# 037 for $300 + Shipping.

Lot #037 Walther LGV Special Walnut .177 (See Description) – USED: Airguns of Arizona
https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/usedguns.html/lot-037-walther-lgv-special-walnut-.177-see-description-%E2%80%93-used/

They have quite a few other quality German guns that came in recently.  My only advice is assume nothing and ask a LOT of specific questions.  Their descriptions are pretty generic.

[nced]

All - I'm looking at a roughly 1970 LGV Special, said to be in excellent condition but with a cocking arm issue.  Found out last night that the barrel bluing is worn from use, so what I thought was a "low mileage" rifle that needs repair is actually something else.

I'd love to own such a rifle and I'm juuust willing to take on the cocking arm fix, but I don't want to take on a full blown project and I'm concerned that this could be one.

So, if anyone can give me some insight - known issues, things to look for, etc it would be very appreciated.

I have no first hand/owner experience with a LGV however I did take a couple shots with one a few years ago at a THAGC field target match and was personally unimpressed with the shot cycle. Then I checked out the "construction" of the gun on the internet viewing parts assemblies and PERSONALLY was "less than enthused" by the "clam shell" receiver and what appeared to be individual stamped metal trigger parts.............


It also seemed to me that the "mechanical arrangement" of the trigger parts were very similar to the HW Rekord trigger, however the Rekord trigger was a separate "self contained" detachable trigger block...........


Anywhoo, the receiver "clam shell" and individual "loose parts held in the clam shell" was enough to create an "I'm not interested in the gun" reaction FOR ME, so the thought of owning one was discarded since I prefer the simpler HW95/HW80 etc approach to construction.

As mentioned, no first hand experience except for several shots at a field target match so ALL my notions are simply "observatory" with bias toward the simpler HW95/HW80 etc method of construction.........

[MDriskill]

Ed, apologies in advance if I am wrong, but I think you are discussing the LGV sporter rifles of fairly recent vintage. The guns on AoA's site are LGV and LGV Spezial 10-meter match rifles built in the 1960's and early 70's. Very different, low-powered guns.

I really wish manufacturers would not re-use model names like this - pretty much 100% guaranteed confusion! 

Here are my two OLD ones, a mid-production LGV with "Olympia" stock on top, and an early LGV Spezial with so-called "UIT" stock below.

[MDriskill]

Parts for these oldsters are getting scarce, but are still out there.

https://www.jgairguns.biz/lgv-c-78_344_348/

https://www.waffencenter-gotha.de/shop/ERSATZTEILE-Spare-Parts/LUFTDRUCKWAFFEN/HERSTELLER-MODELL/WALTHER/WALTHER-Luftgewehre/Walther-LGV:::11_12_614_307_562_311.html

[nced]

Ed, apologies in advance if I am wrong, but I think you are discussing the LGV sporter rifles of fairly recent vintage. The guns on AoA's site are LGV and LGV Spezial 10-meter match rifles built in the 1960's and early 70's. Very different, low-powered guns.

I really wish manufacturers would not re-use model names like this - pretty much 100% guaranteed confusion! 

Here are my two OLD ones, a mid-production LGV with "Olympia" stock on top, and an early LGV Spezial with so-called "UIT" stock below.

I apologize! Thanks for the clarification!
LOL....it seems by this parts diagram that the earlier LGV Special construction is similar to what I prefer.......

[MDriskill]

Ed, thanks for posting that diagram! I tried forever to find it myself when I posted earlier, LOL.

The old LG / LGV "family" are some of the most beautifully-finished guns you will ever see, and were the 800-pound-gorilla of match guns in pre-recoilless days. My favorite target rifle of that era is the Weihrauch HW 55 which I feel is somewhat more robustly made, but the Walthers were much more successful in high-level competition.

[nced]

Ed, thanks for posting that diagram! I tried forever to find it myself when I posted earlier, LOL.

The old LG / LGV "family" are some of the most beautifully-finished guns you will ever see, and were the 800-pound-gorilla of match guns in pre-recoilless days. My favorite target rifle of that era is the Weihrauch HW 55 which I feel is somewhat more robustly made, but the Walthers were much more successful in high-level competition.

Looking at the parts diagram it looks like Walther even went to the trouble of using two counter wound springs separated by part #19, I assume to counteract spring torque............

[MDriskill]

Indeed they did...this "innovation" - borrowed from the classic BSA underlevers made 60+ years before! - was introduced for the "LGV Spezial" in the late 1960's. The double counter-wound springs are identical to those used in the FWB 300S...something to keep in mind when looking for parts.